“And Agatha?” Meryl asked.
“She escaped. And I’m sure it was Akad who freed her, considering she was the closest thing to what he is. She had a long life and good offspring, from which you come, Meryl.”
“Why am I different? I don’t heal fast or anything.”
“The government had DNA samples from Agatha and I can assure you that Akad gave it to them hoping to find a new descendant. He handled the alliance, the information, he orchestrated absolutely everything, every step and every action that was taken. When I figured it out I told my superiors, but no one listened.”
“Let’s get back to Meryl,” Caleb said.
“Yes, well. With Agatha’s sample, we began to look for descendants worldwide. It took years of study and testing for us to find your family. Your blood had a ratio of difference millions of times greater than that of Agatha. Maybe you can’t heal like a vampire or have their strength, but you can do something much greater than that. You can give birth to them. The key is in your DNA. You have exactly the same blood as Akad although curiously you’re still human.”
Meryl nodded, she remembered Epsilon’s words. Now it all made sense.
“Geor ... Epsilon told me that ...” Nausea came like a blizzard, but Caleb’s reassuring hand settled on Meryl’s shoulder and gave her the strength to speak. “He said he would make me give birth to his son. That he would stop Akad.”
“Your brother,” Amanda whispered, “was injected with the blood of Zero mixed with yours. Now there is no one like him. He is practically at the same level as Akad. I know all this is complicated. I am just as confused as you. It’s a new field and no tests have been done,” Amanda complained. “But what is certain is that we can’t let either of them achieve their goal. I suspect that the pregnancy would not be pleasant or slow. After all, that baby would be a vampire from birth. It wouldn’t take more than a few weeks to gestate, and each of them would be the equal of two hundred vampires. And not like the ones we know now. They would be perfect.”
“We must kill them both,” Jeoff said harshly.
“There aren’t many options.” Amanda looked at Caleb. “I already told you a few months ago, Caleb. You were already different when you were born. You evolved more when you were converted and improved when you drank meryl’s blood. You haven’t felt different yet, but your blood is now as pure as theirs. You will realize soon that your strength has increased.”
“Well, that’s all. The first will be Epsilon, and Zero will follow. We’ll leave Akad for last. For the moment he doesn’t seem to take part in the war. The only one he is interested in is Meryl and that is precisely why she must be watched twenty-four hours a day.”
Meryl didn’t like hearing that very much, but she understood. Akad was relentless and perfect. He would surely be able to enter the camp, go unnoticed by thousands of people, and leave with her without anyone noticing. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why did she have to be different?
“Also,” Johana said suddenly. “The resistance in Omega Zone needs us. There are so many people, Caleb,” she added when she saw a certain mistrust in his eyes. “They saved us.”
“Are you part of them?” Caleb looked at Luxt.
“Something like that,” he said without showing any emotion.
Meryl watched them both look at each other with some harshness. She was almost certain, from Caleb’s expression, that something about Luxt brought back memories.
“Can you all leave?” Meryl began in a whisper, afraid of not doing the right thing. “The three of us need to talk.”
When those present began to leave without understanding the situation, Luxt tensed. He jumped in front of Meryl, and Caleb reacted instantly, feeling the threat of the sudden movement.
“I told you to keep quiet, woman,” Luxt said angrily.
“Keep quiet about what?” With a certain distrust and dryness in his voice, Caleb stood between Meryl and Luxt. Caleb kept looking directly into Luxt’s eyes. “Talk Meryl.”
“Well, when I was in Omega’s rebel camp,” she began, hesitating, terrified that she was not doing the right thing, “something happened to me.”
“What?” With a slight movement, Caleb set his eyes on her.
“The melodies of the blood. I saw you.”
It was barely perceptible, but Meryl could see him pursing his lips.
“And?”
“She started to scream. It was heard for several meters,” continued Luxt knowing that Meryl would not listen.
“I saw what they did to you Caleb,” Meryl whispered.
“Why do you make that face? It’s been more than three hundred years.” Though Caleb tried to shrug it off Meryl could hear the fury in his voice. “I knew that sooner or later you would see something from my past. It’s not important. Anyway, what does that have to do with you?” Caleb asked, turning to look at Luxt.
“You saved him,” Meryl said.
“I was the boy in the tower.”
“When I went to kill them?”
Luxt nodded.
“I admit that it surprises me. How...?”
“How did I become a vampire?” Luxt laughed for the first time since Meryl knew him. “I looked for you. I followed you through dozens of cities and finally, I found you. I was finally able to clear up any doubts when I saw what you were. Until that day I thought that everything had been a product of my imagination. Those demonic eyes could not have belonged to the person who saved my life,” Luxt sighed and continued. “I found a monastery. There they showed me books that showed that you were a real devil. The monks told me that the damned were bloodthirsty beasts, but I knew it wasn’t true. You saved a condemned child. I searched for years and I found another like you. He turned me into a vampire.”
“Why?”
“Because I had a debt to repay. I saved the woman you loved to pay it off.”
Caleb looked at Meryl.
“He helped us escape Epsilon’s base in time.”
“I see ... Then I’ll be eternally grateful.”
“You don’t have to be. I just gave you back what you did for me. One life for another.”
“Luxt,” Meryl called as she started for the door. “You don’t have to leave. You can stay and help us.”
“This war has nothing to do with me.” Luxt walked through the door to disappear.
“Calm down.” Caleb approached her back. He stretched his arms from one shoulder to the other to embrace her against him. “He’ll return.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he has the same look in his eyes that I did long ago. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with anyone, but he can’t avoid it. Sooner or later he will join the chessboard and take part in what is about to explode.”
Caleb’s words appeased Meryl, but they also created the uncertainty of whether she would finally play, on the right side or, on the contrary end up with Epsilon. Only time would clear up her doubts.
♫♫♫
Although Meryl felt the need to spend all her time alone with Caleb it was impossible. Every minute someone came for a meeting, to give them news, or to give a report. At that moment Caleb was one of the most powerful men in the world and everyone wanted or needed to talk to him. It seemed that fate mocked her now that they were back together.
Meryl went out to look for Johana and Legrant. She wanted to see how Pein was because the boy’s grief would last a long time. Meryl was sure of that and knowing Pein’s character it was a priority to have him calm and under a watchful eye.
Meryl walked among houses that had been abandoned for a long time. The Asian vampire guards made her afraid. Their faces showed no feelings. They were serious and moved woodenly. They looked in all directions, almost like automatons. Meryl’s distraction in looking at these men led her to crash into someone. She looked in front to apo
logize to a smiling Asian man.
“I’m sorry.”
“So you’re Meryl.”
“ Yes.”
“I just arrived. I’m Yong. Caleb’s mentor.”
“Mentor?” Meryl had no idea what that meant.
“Long ago, I helped him get on the right path. These soldiers,” Yong said, extending his arm, “ are my present to him.”
“Oh!” Meryl was so confused that she didn’t know what to say. “I suppose I should thank you.”
“I’m the one who should thank you. You achieved what I could not. You managed to get Caleb to open his heart again. Walk with me.”
Meryl thought Yong was a little strange, but knowing that he’d helped Caleb was enough to earn her trust. So under the cover of his arm, she began to walk listening to some curious anecdotes about Caleb’s dark years. Yong turned out to be a funny, joking, eccentric man.
“Can I ask you something?” After half an hour of listening to anecdotes, Meryl needed new information.
“Go ahead.”
“Why do the soldiers look so lifeless.”
“They’re warriors,” Yong said. “They have been trained for years.”
“That’s a bit cruel,” Meryl said, surprising Yong, who laughed.
“Do you think I’ve taken away their humanity? Let’s just say that while they are wearing their armor. They are killing machines, but when it is removed they are quite normal,” Yong explained. “Their mission has been well instilled in them. They know what will happen if we lose this battle. In the place we call home there is peace between vampires and humans, a consensus. They give us blood in exchange for protection. So vampires don’t have to kill,” he continued, surprising Meryl, “it’s a harmonious compromise “
“It sounds more like a Utopia.”
“But it’s not. Because it’s real. It’s the model we want to implement after killing your ... Epsilon.” Yong changed his words when he was about to say, brother.
“You can say it.”
“Brother?”
Meryl nodded.
“Although he’s not quite that anymore. True?”
“True. At least that is what I keep telling myself.”
“You’re a special girl, Meryl,” he continued. They stopped near the building which Caleb occupied. “I don’t say it because of your genetics, but because of how you make people feel. You are harmony. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my pupil is waiting for me.”
Meryl wanted to ask what Yong meant when he said she was harmony, but was left wanting. Yong quickly entered the building without giving her time to speak. Although he would surely stay there and she would have time to clear up her questions later.
Meryl found Jeoff, who told her that Johana and Legrant were waiting for her at one of the houses for dinner. No sooner had Meryl entered that the smell of food pushed her like a ghostly hand into the dining room. There she saw a table full of still steaming plates and Pein sitting in front of the window, so she could only see his back.
“Pein,” Meryl called as he walked toward him, greeting the rest with a wave of her hand. “How are you?”
In response, he buried his head in his hands, preventing Meryl from seeing his face.
“It’s all right,” Meryl said after a couple of seconds, then wrapped her arms around him and cradled him softly. “It’s all right.” Though Meryl tried to raise his spirits she ended up giving in to her own tears.
“What did he say? When he died ...” Pein asked.
“He asked me to take care of you,” Meryl replied, placing her forehead on the back of Pein’s neck. “He smiled.”
“He died smiling?” The need to know made Pein lift his head and let Meryl see just how broken he was.
“Yes, he was grateful. He had his younger brother once again. His last concern was for your safety, Pein. You must compose yourself, for him, for his memory.”
“Yes, but I’ll kill that bastard in the most painful way I can think of.”
“Come, eat something,” Meryl said, for though he did not need food. She knew it was reassuring.
With his head down but a little recovered Pein sat at the table with the others while in his mind he imagined a thousand ways to kill Axel.
♫♫♫
The room full of oriental cushions of a thousand different colors, and which had seemed to Meryl’s eyes perfect before were now torn to shreds. The cushion stuffing covered the floor almost as if they were the guts of a hated enemy. The shattered furniture dropped their contents which scattered everywhere. After destroying everything with his hands Epsilon looked out of the window. It was frustrating. He had been so close to his goal and had lost everything.
“You executed the guards?” he asked in a trembling voice after a few minutes of silence. “A group of humans entered my castle and took Meryl. Unthinkable and unforgivable.”
“Yes. I took care of it myself,” Edel said with his hands still bloodied. Mat turned his eyes slightly to look at his companion, seeing that each day that passed, he showed less emotion. “It was slow and painful.”
“All right. Do you know where they are hiding?”
“No,” Matt hurried to answer. “We are combing the city but with its size, it may take days or weeks.”
“Unacceptable,” Epsilon cut him off. “Hours? Yes. Days? Maybe. Weeks? No.”
“I’ll go and order more men to join the search.”
Neither of them moved, neither to affirm or deny. Mat left the room with a bad feeling. They had both changed. They were both touched by an insanity that couldn’t be understood. Mat was no longer even sure of doing the right thing, but wherever Edel went, he would go without hesitation.
“How’s the experiment going?” Epsilon asked when they were alone, this time he stopped looking through the window and approached his right hand man. “It will be a wonderful gift when Meryl returns home.”
“Well, we have lost the first three, but the fourth is holding. We are very close.” He smiled.
“Good boy, Edel,” Epsilon said happily. “You will have the prize you want. Caleb will be yours. I no longer need him. With what I have now the world will be mine.”
“Thanks, I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to kill him for years.”
“The truth is that I have never understood your hatred for him. Although I don’t think you understand it yourself.”
“Mr. Perfect,” Edel said dryly. “It pisses me off that he looks so wise. He believes that what he says or does is always right. He’s a nobody. He doesn’t deserve to be where he is. He does not honor what he is ... A vampire protecting humans, it’s a joke.”
“Of course, you’ve always wanted his position. You will have it, my friend. You’ve been a faithful dog. Now let’s go to the laboratory. I want to see the fourth subject. I want to see my perfect world. I want to see the future.”
Melody N⁰ 10
The Dark Death
The days following her arrival Meryl quickly moved from frustration into anger. Every time Meryl tried to be alone with Caleb somebody interrupted. Epsilon’s men began to stake out positions throughout the city. Where the chaos had reached the limits of destruction. The sentries sent to investigate did not bring good news and in that situation, it was simply impossible to remove the thousands of rebels from the Omega faction.
“Caleb!” Meryl called him as he left the building with André and Jeoff.
“Meryl, how’s Pein?”
“Better, though he only thinks of revenge.” Meryl was concerned.
“He’s not the only one,” Caleb said harshly. “Let’s go see Yong. Are you coming?”
“Yes, of course.”
Meryl stood next to Caleb and they began to walk toward the house that his mentor occupied.
The camp was getting crowded. People began to arrive from other
zones on the planet. Meryl liked that the camp was very multicultural. She smiled as she watched the people that were so different but at the same time were equal. A push tossed her a couple of meters through the air, but before Meryl fell to the ground Jeoff caught her.
“What the hell,” Meryl’s moan at Caleb’s shove was silenced as a huge piece of roof tile fell from one of the roofs onto the ground and broke into pieces.
“Ajax!” Caleb’s snort of anger revealed that it was one of the leaders.
“There’s no beer in this place!” Ajax shouted back.
“Good God! What a rude man.” Meryl turned her head and saw a blond-haired woman in an Oriental dress that looked impressive.
“It’s a pity he did not crush you,” said the young woman that stood beside her.
“Elizabeth, Dee,” Jeoff said. “You have taken longer to arrive than we thought.”
“The news hasn’t arrived?” the blond woman asked and Jeoff shook his head in denial. Caleb approached the group. “Our zones are in chaos. The war for supremacy has broken out.”
“How?”
“Someone has seeded discord in all the cities, Caleb,” Ajax replied. “Right now, we have only a few leaders with us. Although we have arrived with a good-sized army behind us.”
“Epsilon?” With her feet finally on the ground, Meryl caught the attention of the newcomers.
“Is this your human?” Elisabeth grabbed Meryl’s face to get a good look at her.” Charming and sweet, huh?”
“You must have a strong stomach to let him put a finger on you, girl,” Dee said, looking at Caleb sideways as he grinned.
“No more nonsense, let’s go.” Disgusted by what he was hearing about the other continents, he urged everyone to accompany him.”
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